NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Blocks, puzzles and other
hands-on toys that have long been mainstays of children's play
are still best at teaching some skills needed for success,
according to a research review.

Although so-called "screen-based" entertainment - including
computers, video games and cell phones - can keep young kids
occupied, technology is less effective than more traditional
toys in teaching spatial reasoning to preschoolers, the U.S.
researchers say.

"Skills, including early geometry and knowing the names of
shapes, help kids learn the math skills they pick up in
kindergarten. And if they already have those (before they begin
school), they are ahead of the curve," said lead author Brian
Verdine, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Delaware in
Newark.

Spatial reasoning, which is the ability to visualize and
manipulate objects as they would appear in space, is important
in many math- and science-oriented careers, including
engineering, Verdine and his coauthors write in Trends in
Neuroscience and Education.

Playing with blocks, shapes and other toys does more than
just get kids used to looking at and manipulating these objects.
When parents join in, the dialogue they provide during playtime
can also provide an opportunity to learn spatial skills.

For example, comparing the size, color and position of
objects teaches children how to make comparisons.

"When a parent is directing the play and narrating, that
kind of conversation is such good learning for children. Parents
should be like sportscasters and keep a running commentary on
what's going on," said Marsha Gerdes, a psychologist at The
Children's Hospital of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, who was not
involved in the review.

Real-world play can also teach social skills, Verdine points
out.

"One reason these old-fashioned toys provide a lot of
benefits is that they involve other play partners or adults in
some way," he said.

"Parents provide a lot of additional language input, and
they can respond to children in ways that electronic toys really
aren't able to do at this point in time," Verdine said.

Although screen-based toys often hold great allure for
families, many experts believe they just don't help children
learn as much as real objects and interactions with other
people.

"Parents see that children will watch these screens and look
like they understand, but they are not looking and perceiving in
a way that is helping them learn. Kids are not learning as much
as when they are actually looking at their parent's face and
listening to them sing a song when they are watching a pattern
on a screen," Gerdes said.

Children who spend time in front of a screen - whether
that's a computer, a television or a tablet - also tend to have
more attention problems, lower reading scores and an inferior
ability to use spoken language compared with peers who don't
spend time in front of screens, Gerdes said.

The American Academy of Pediatrics in 2013 released
guidelines on screen time, advising against any screen time for
children under the age of two years. Beyond age two, AAP
recommends limiting screen time to one-to-two hours a day.

Verdine and his coauthors reviewed prior research on the
cognitive effects of different types of play. While they found
real-world toys to be better at teaching spatial skills, a few
electronic toys and apps can offer "bonus learning experiences,"
they say.

"The best digital toys can adjust the difficulty level of
the task in response to the increasing skill level of a child,
creating an individualized experience for the child that can
increase engagement, reduce frustration, and optimize learning,"
they write.

Beyond blocks, parents looking for real-world skill-building
activities can try other options, Gerdes noted, including
materials for playing pretend, such as kitchen sets, action
figures and dolls.

"The literature also has been very strong in terms of skills
from books and reading, both when kids read with adults and when
they flip the pages or read on their own," Gerdes told Reuters
Health.

Verdine's group thinks building skills like spatial
reasoning from an early age may make children more likely as
they grow up to continue to pursue avenues that require a
similar skill set.

"The kinds of skills these toys build are related to staying
in (science and engineering) subjects through college, and to
being successful in those careers later. So the earlier we can
start on these things, the better," Verdine said.

"If you're better at age three, you're probably going to be
better at it later. It's a cumulative effect as you continue to
build those skills," he said.